DuelSlay
by Joshua The Evil Guy
Summary: One-shot. Buffy comes across "Duel Monsters" one day and quickly learns how to play.


Title: Slayer Duel

Author:Joshua "The Evil Guy"

Disclaimer:Buffy the Vampire Slayer, of course belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant/Enemy. Yugioh the card game belongs to Konami and Upper Deck Entertainment. None of the Yugioh television anime is used AT ALL!

Summary:One-shot. Buffy comes across "Duel Monsters" one day and quickly learns how to play.

Story:

"Starter"

Buffy Anne Summers, teenage girl, average B student, and Vampire Slayer, savior of humankind against demon kind, walked into the new Game Shop on a brisk Saturday morning. It had just opened last weekend, right next to the magic shop "The Magic Box" that Willow always went to for her and Giles supplies for spells.

She had been curious about the signs that had already been up for weeks, and then about the shop itself after it opened. Now, with her first opportunity for free time, and without Xander or Willow nearby to ask her what she was doing, she walked right in.

It wasn't quite what she had expected.

There were posters all over the walls, of different things, but most of them favored hand drawn monsters or warrior creatures, and there were no shelves of wrapped board games. In fact the entire shop seemed dedicated to, for the most part, one game. She finally found the name for it near the back, where the main counter and register was. Duel Monsters.

Curious, Buffy began to browse the shop.

Across one entire wall were glass cases where cards were on display in plastic cases. Some were shiny holographic, while others just looked to be in mint condition. After a couple minutes of this, Buffy realized that this Duel Monsters was a trading card game.

She almost left, grimacing in annoyance at having wasted her time…when one card in particular caught her eye. It was a holograph, but the picture would have been just as beautiful without the shininess. The card was called "Wing Weaver". A…seraphim, a female seraphim with long purple hair flowing over her shoulders with eight ethereal wings spread out majestically from behind her golden yellow tunic. It seemed to enjoy being in the center of the display cards.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" an elderly voice said suddenly.

Buffy jumped back, biting down a scream of surprise as she noticed a kind looking middle aged man standing almost right beside her. He was a couple inches taller than herself, with once brown but now graying hair, soft brown eyes, and he was wearing a paint-stained shopkeeper's smock; the male version of an apron.

"Oh!" Buffy startled, blushing at having been caught staring. "I'm sorry, I was just looking."

"That's quite all right my dear," he smiled warmly at her, making her feel suddenly comfortable. "I wouldn't have her in a display box if I didn't want her to be seen."

Buffy frowned, remembering where she lived suddenly as she repeated, "Her?"

The shopkeeper chuckled, a pleasant sound. "My apologies. Sometimes…I forget that they're just cards. Paint and ink on precisely cut pieces of paper. But sometimes… sometimes I get the feeling that they're more than that. Tell me my young lady, how long have you played Duel Monsters?"

Buffy blinked and answered honestly, "Never heard of it before. I just saw that this game shop had opened up and was curious… so I came in to check it out."

The old man smiled again and then turned and started to walk to the back. After a few steps he gestured for Buffy to follow him. Still curious, she did.

"Duel Monsters," he began as he walked behind the counter, over to a point in the corner where rows of the cards were set up, Buffy followed him but stayed on the other side of the counter, "Duel Monsters was created by a man named Maximilian Pegasus. Rumor has it that he based it on a type of game, but more a ritual challenge between ancient Egyptian sorcerers over 5000 years ago. Each card, each picture is therefore based upon a specific hieroglyph, which supposedly depicted the true monster that existed back then."

"Monster?" Buffy repeated.

He held up one of the cards laid out before them. It was a cute little furry creature with four simple claws for its feet and two large purple eyes. It's name was "Kuriboh". Then he held up another, more human looking one of a man in full armor, but she couldn't read its name.

"Every card that depicts a character is called a Monster. There are six general attributes of monsters; Light, Dark, Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire. Then there are the Monster types; Spellcaster, Dragon, Warrior, Beast-Warrior, Beast, Winged-Beast, Zombie, Fiend, Fairy, Insect, Dinosaur, Reptile, Fish, Sea serpent, Machine, Thunder, Aqua, Pyro, Rock, and Plant."

"Wow," Buffy commented, "That's a lot. How do you remember them so well?"

He gave her a cocky half-grin, "My dear, I happen to be a very good Duelist, not to mention I am the owner of this Game Shop. It is my business to remember them." He chuckled. "It's not so hard really. I love to play Duel Monsters, and when you love something so much, it's really not that hard to want to learn all that you can about it."

Buffy had to concede the point on that.

"What do the stars mean?" she asked, pointing.

"Oh, that tells you what level the monster is. But that's not really important," he directed her attention to the lower right hand corner of all the cards. "_That_ is what you really need to pay attention to. The Attack and Defensive power of each monster. Any monster above level five, according to the Basic Rules, you have to sacrifice another monster in order to summon it."

"Huh?" Buffy was completely lost.

He looked at her and when he saw the look on her face he started chuckling. "I'm sorry, I get so enthusiastic about this game that I go too fast sometimes for someone who doesn't know it already. My apologies…eh…"

Buffy caught the hint and held out her hand, which the shopkeeper shook.

"Buffy," she told him. "Buffy Summers."

"Summers? You wouldn't happen to know a woman that works down at the Art Gallery down the street would you?" he asked.

Buffy smiled brightly, "My mother," she answered.

He smiled, and then cursed himself, "Oh where is my head today? I apologize again. My name is Jonah, and as I've said, I'm the owner of this Game Shop."

"It's very nice to meet you Jonah," Buffy said politely. "Now, I've never been one much for Trading card games, but this Duel Monsters sounds interesting. Why don't you teach me how to play?"

Jonah looked surprised. "Just like that? You hear me for five minutes and get totally confused by my gibbering, and you want to learn how to play? It usually takes weeks, if not years for me to convince an average teenager to even listen to the explanation, let alone teach them to play the game. They're all into the modern gaming. If it's not on a video screen or has 3-D effects, it's not worth their time."

Buffy smiled, "Well, I'm not your average teenager, and…" she trailed off and looked back at the glass display case where she saw that seraph card.

Jonah smiled when he caught the gesture. "Ah. She is quite beautiful, she is that. There were only about 100 cards of Wing Weaver printed for sale. That makes her as rare as she is beautiful. And she's also one of the most powerful Light monsters in the game. Certainly the most powerful Fairy."

Buffy looked back into Jonah's face, "Teach me the game? Please?"

Jonah just nodded and proceeded to explain.

One week later, Buffy walked into Jonah's shop and was surprised when she saw a few other people already in there. Jonah was behind the counter, but there was a couple, a boy and a girl Buffy's age at one of the Dueling tables set up in the middle of the shop. They were dueling each other Buffy noted with interest.

Then she started looking around, as she had last Saturday, when she noticed a boy that could have been a year older than her, leaning casually against the counter, idly watching the boy and girl's duel. She smiled, but went right back to looking at all the cards in the display cases.

She now knew the game, but aside from Jonah's demonstrations, which she had been privy to every day after school this week, not to mention last Saturday and Sunday, she had not even played the game. She had no experience.

It was kind of like when she had first been trained in becoming the Slayer. She had the training, she knew what she had to do, and she just didn't have any experience at all in doing it. She hoped to change that today. She had just gotten her allowance, as well as whatever savings she could easily get to in less than one day.

She was going to make her own Starter Deck, as Jonah had suggested she do before playing anybody. Wing Weaver was definitely going to be in her deck, she knew.

"Buffy! Hi!" Jonah said enthusiastically when she came up to the counter. "Ready for more tutoring, eh?"

Buffy smiled. "No, actually I'm here for something much more important. I want to make my Starter Deck. That was about 50 cards, right?"

Jonah blinked, then smiled and nodded. "Of course. Well then, lets get started. First, we'll go over to the Monster cases. Now you just pick which ones you want first. And don't get ahead of yourself, and remember what I told you about having a well-balanced Deck."

"I remember Jonah," Buffy said as she started to browse.

Of course she got Wing Weaver, but she needed cards of several levels, and she wanted some with special abilities as well.

Buffy's Deck:

(x2)Wing WeaverATK/2750DEF/2400

Summoned SkullATK/2500DEF/1200

Gyakutenno MegamiATK/1800DEF/2000

(x3)Mystical Elf ATK/800DEF/2000

(x2)Hibikime ATK/1450DEF/1000

(x3)Spirit of the HarpATK/800DEF/2000

Maiden of the MoonlightATK/1500DEF/1300

Rogue Doll ATK/1600DEF/1000

Dark Witch ATK/1800DEF/1700

Lady of Faith ATK/1100DEF/800

Guardian of the Throne RoomATK/1650DEF/1600

Ray & Temp ATK/1000DEF/1000

Baby Dragon ATK/1200DEF/700

Guardian of the LabyrinthATK/1000DEF/1200

Protector of the ThroneATK/800DEF/1500

Witch of the Black ForestATK/1100DEF/1200

Queens DoubleATK/350DEF/300

Time Wizard ATK/500DEF/400

Maha Vailo ATK/1550DEF/1400

Hoshiningen ATK/500DEF/700

Magician of FaithATK/300DEF/400

Shining AngelATK/1400DEF/800

"Well, those are all good choices Buffy," Jonah complimented her. Buffy smiled, admiring her cards. "Now, lets go finish your Deck off with the Magic and Trap cards case."

Magic cards:"Malevolent Nuzzler(x2)", "Tailor of the fickle", "Lightning Blade (x2)", "Rain of Mercy", "De-Spell(x2)", "Stop Defense", "Dian Keto the Cure Master", "Remove Trap (x2)", "Fissure (x2)", "Monster Reborn", "Soul Exchange", "Polymerization (x3)", "Dark Hole", "Pot of Greed", and "Silver Bow & Arrow(x2)"

Trap cards:"White Hole", "Armored Glass", "Respect Play", "World Suppression", "Enchanted Javelin (x3)", "Waboku (x3)", "Light of Intervention", "Trap Hole (x3)", "Reinforcements (x2)", and a "Dragon Capture Jar".

"I'm sorry I don't have more of the rare magic and trap cards Buffy, just the basic stuff at the moment," Jonah apologized.

"That's perfectly all right. These are great as it is," Buffy said, admiring her new deck. "Now… what's the damage to my Life Points?"

Jonah chuckled, while the guy that was leaning by the counter just snorted. Buffy ignored him.

"Nothing. This is your Starting deck Buffy. It's free."

Buffy blinked, but shook her head no. "Jonah, I…I can't. Come on, seriously, how much?"

"I'm quite serious Buffy," Jonah was adamant. "I've seen you over the past week go from not ever hearing of Duel Monsters to loving it so much you can hardly wait to start playing. I couldn't accept your money for those cards, not and still claim a love for the game myself."

"But…but…how the heck do you run a business if you just give these cards away? And didn't you say that Wing Weaver is a rare card? That must make it extremely expensive."

"Take a look Buffy. You'll find that I slipped a second Wing Weaver in there when you weren't looking." Jonah chuckled again.

"Jonah! I can't let you just give me these. Let me make it up to you somehow, please?"

Jonah looked thoughtful for a moment.

"All right. How about this? I've been needing some help in the shop, right after school until around just before sunset. Now to settle your bill, how about you work it off? Oh there wouldn't be much. Just running the register, a little moving heavy boxes, and maybe a Duel or two. Of course I'll have to discuss it with your mother, but I seriously doubt that Joyce would have any trouble with you working here."

Buffy's smile was so wide Jonah was almost afraid she would split her head open.

"Deal! Now…how about a booster or two, just to increase my chances," Buffy picked one with the image of the Mystical Elf on it and then another with a man in dark purple robes that looked like a wizard or a sorcerer. "And no freebies Jonah, I'm paying for these at the very least."

Jonah chuckled once more and then rung up the booster packs and Buffy paid him. She then opened each pack. She got another Mystical Elf, another Baby Dragon, Summoned Skull, and another one that was the monster of whose image that was on the second pack that she hadn't recognized. All the other cards were Magic and Trap cards.

"Dark Magician, huh? The ultimate wizard in terms of attack and defense," she read.

"Oh, before I forget," Jonah stepped into the back real quick for a minute before returning with a small wooden jewelry box, or at least that's what Buffy recognized it as, and a Deck-Box, which Jonah had shown to her over the week. This one was attached to a brown leather belt.

"Here," Jonah slid the items to her.

Buffy's eyes went wide.

"I'm quite serious. And it's League Rules. Each registered Duelist must have their own Deck-Box. The case is for the extra cards you don't want to be in your deck for the moment. Oh, I have a few dozen of these that I'm not even using anymore, and I certainly can't sell the ones like these. Take them. Otherwise they'll probably end up in the garbage one day."

Buffy consented after that and stuck all of the cards she got from the booster packs into the box and putting her new deck in the Deck-Box before putting the belt on herself. It fit perfectly.

"This is great! Thank you so much Jonah! And I'll be sure to talk to Mom this afternoon!" Buffy said enthusiastically.

Suddenly, just as she was turning away from the counter, the boy that had been standing there since she walked in, stood up and now stood in her way. "So… a newbie huh?" he asked. "How about a duel newbie?"

Buffy just smirked and put her new card box back on the counter. "Sure," she drawled with a cocky smirk.

Duel #1: Buffy vs. Jonas

"So…what's your name?" Buffy asked as she shuffled her challenger's deck as he shuffled her recently constructed one.

The boy looked up at her startled for a moment, and then smiled and did a sort of half nod, more to himself she guessed, and answered, "Sorry. I had thought you already knew my name. I'm Jonas Kensington. And I also happen to be the best duelist in Sunnydale."

Buffy's eyebrows went up, a perfect match to her thoughts at that moment, 'Oh really?' She finished shuffling and handed Jonas his deck back, and he hers.

They sat their decks in the marked places on the dueling table and then together they drew five cards. "So…who should go first? We didn't flip any coins or stuff," Buffy asked.

Jonas shrugged and then gave her that too confident for his own good smirk again and said, "Why don't you go first?"

Grimacing in annoyance, she announced, "I will then." And she drew another card.

De-spell, Stop Defense, Dark Witch, Queen's Double, White Hole, and Lady of Faith. Not bad, Buffy had to agree, but what to do with it? 'He might already have a card, or will get one that could destroy any trap or magic cards I set, unless they were single-use fast acting ones, but I didn't get any of those this hand. I can't summon Dark Witch without sacrificing, and I can't attack immediately because I went first so Queen's Double's effect is useless. And Lady of Faith's defense is way too weak. What do I do?'

Buffy bit her lip as she thought, but finally, she announced, "I place two cards face down," and placed De-spell and Stop Defense in the lower row, closer to her, "And I summon Lady of Faith." She placed the Lady of Faith card face-up in the upright 'Attack' position. "That ends my turn."

Jonas smirked and drew a card.

He barely even glanced at it before taking one card from his hand and announced, "I activate Harpy's Feather Duster, which destroys all your magic and trap cards. And then I summon," he waited, for dramatic pause, as Buffy, glaring shocked, put her two magic cards in the discard pile, or 'Graveyard', "Mystic Clown!" He placed an ugly gremlin-looking creature with one eye, green-skin, and a purple outfit down in 'Attack' position.

Mystic Clown ATK/1500 DEF/1000

Lady of Faith ATK/1100 DEF/800

Buffy grimaced, but then noticed a slight sneer on Jonas' face. "Then I augment Mystic clown with Sword of Deep Seated, which increases his attack and his defense by 500 points."

Buffy goggled! That meant his monster now had an attack of 2000!

"And I attack your Lady of Faith, which of course destroys it, but since Lady of Faith was in Attack position, you also lose 900 Life points."

Buffy blinked, and blushed as she remembered that little detail. Maybe she should have started Lady of Faith out in Defense mode.

Buffy/7100

Jonas/8000

Swallowing the bile in her throat as Jonas ended his turn, Buffy drew her next card, and almost let out a sigh of relief at what she had drawn, but controlled herself well enough.

"I set one card face down," she put White Hole in the Magic/Trap card row, "and I set one monster in defense mode," placing the card she had just drawn facedown and in the turned 'Defense position'. "That ends my turn."

Jonas squinted at her, but nodded, not saying anything and drew his card. He smirked at what he saw. Apparently he wasn't as good at keeping a poker face as she was. "Get ready new girl. You're about to face one of my most powerful and devastating monsters. And there's not a thing you can do about it."

Buffy smirked. "Maybe not, but I'll just bet than I can beat it. I've been up against the odds before. And I've beaten tougher than you."

"Oh yeah, well we'll see about that," Jonas crowed as he set down another card, face down in the Magic/Trap row. "I set down one card, and I summon Black Land Fire Dragon, and then activate the Field Magic card Mountain, which increases the Attack and Defense of all Dragon type monsters by 200 points. Giving my Dragon an attack of 1700. Now I attack your face down card with Black Land Fire Dragon!"

Buffy looked horrified for all the time it took for Jonas to spout his statistics, until he declared his attack and she returned his smirk right back at him and turned Spirit of the Harp face-up, but still in the defense position.

Black Land Fire Dragon/1700

Spirit of the Harp/2000

Jonas looked shocked for a moment, staring, before Buffy broke the spell by saying 'innocently', "I believe you lose 300 Life points. My turn." Jonas just grumbled.

Buffy drew, but again hid her reaction well. 'I'll need this soon enough,' she thought to herself.

"I'll pass this turn," Buffy told him calmly.

Jonas smirk was back, full force. "Aw, newbie didn't get what she wanted? Well, too bad because here comes trouble girlie."

"Girlie?" Buffy repeated, with a note of 'pissed off' in her voice. Jonas noticed this, and wisely just drew his next card.

"Tell you what I'm going to do here newbie," Jonas said, apparently either stalling or just trying to start a conversation, "I'm gonna give you a break here, and I'm not going to embarrass you, this being your first real duel and all, so I'll just make this as quick and painless as possible."

"Thank you," Buffy said as sarcastically as any human possibly could.

Jonas just smirked as he picked up his two monster cards, saying, "I sacrifice Mystic Clown and Black Land Fire Dragon in order to summon," he paused again as he put the two monsters in his Graveyard and then pulled another, holographic, card from his hand, "Mikazukinoyaiba!"

"Say what?" Buffy immediately replied.

Jonas smirked, "Suffice to say, a very powerful Dragon type monster. Therefore, thanks to Mountain, his attack isn't just 2200, now it's 2400. And I also play," he flipped over the Magic card he had played the turn before, "Tailor of the Fickle, which allows me to take Sword of Deep Seated from Mystic Clown and apply its effect to Mikazukinoyaiba without having to draw it all over again. That gives my monster an attack of over…"

"2900…" Buffy whispered in shock, staring.

Mikazukinoyaiba/2900

Spirit of the Harp/2000

Buffy gulped. She was in trouble. And there wasn't a single thing she could do about it!

"So newbie, ready to give up yet?" Jonas drawled.

Buffy glared, and the boy almost flinched back from the intensity of it. "This is my first duel wiseass! If I actually got interested in the game enough to come here ready to spend over a hundred dollars on my first Deck, you better believe that I'm not quitting before I've even won, or lost my very first duel!"

"And what could possibly make you think you even had a chance at beating me newbie? I already told you, I'm the best duelist in Sunnydale!" Jonas crowed.

Buffy squinted, glaring anger and growled out, "Just finish your turn."

Jonas smirked, and nodded. "I attack with Mikazukinoyaiba, against your Spirit of the Harp."

Since Spirit of the Harp was in Defense mode, Buffy didn't lose any Life points, but she did lose her only monster on the field, leaving her wide open for a direct attack on her Life points next turn.

Grumbling at what her first chance at playing this game was turning out like, Buffy just made sure that Jonas was through with his turn and then drew her next card. She blinked in surprise, but that was the only emotion she allowed her opponent to read from her. Inwardly though, she was grinning her head off. She had just drawn Wing Weaver.

She grimaced at her predicament as she added Wing Weaver to her hand and looked over the playing field.

Jonas, in the first few moves had already dominated the game so far and she counted at least three amateurish mistakes, that even though she was an amateur, she was cursing herself out for. The only monster she could still summon would be Queen's Double, but unless she found a way to stall Jonas' attack next turn, it wouldn't do her a bit of good.

Unless… she could fake him out.

She looked up slyly at her opponent and gave him a smile that in her Freshman year she had used whenever she wanted to mercilessly tease a poor boy into a hopeless embarrassing situation. She also switched her tone to a voice you rarely heard outside of Noir movies.

"I'll summon one monster in defense mode," she placed Queen's Double face down, "and I'll place… this Trap card face down… right here."

Jonas audibly gulped once Buffy had done just that. Then she said in her normal tone again, "That ends my turn. For now."

Jonas glanced back up at her face, and then his eyes went right back to the card she had just placed, squinting in mistrust. He had watched her browse earlier, but hadn't seen all of the cards she had picked. He drew a card, still glaring at her facedown trap card.

He glanced at his hand, scowling slightly before telling her, "You might be bluffing, but I'm not stupid enough to fall into a trap, leaving me wide open for your face down, or some other more powerful monster you can summon on your next turn. I'll pass this turn."

Buffy shrugged and grinned, "Suit yourself." She drew a card. She blinked, and then did a double take. "Well, this looks useful," she immediately set it in the Magic card zone saying, "I activate Pot of Greed. Allowing me to draw two more cards."

Jonas scowled, Buffy grinned.

'Useful indeed,' she thought, looking at her two new cards.

"I set down another trap card and sacrifice my face down card in order to set another face down, defense monster," Buffy put Queen's Double in the Graveyard and put Dark Witch face down in its place. After she was done, she suddenly tried to look introspective, and as though she were thinking aloud, she asked the room in general, "Now what does Mirror Force do again?"

Jonas glared at her, but for once didn't say anything as he drew a card. Then he started looking back and forth between Buffy and the playing field. Finally, with the card he had just drawn he said, "I summon Giant Soldier of Stone in attack mode, and with that I attack your face down card."

"Oh yeah, like I'd waste a perfectly good Trap card on a weak ass monster like that," Buffy snorted as she turned Dark Witch over. "You lose 100 life points. Want to lose your Dragon monster too?"

Buffy/7100

Jonas/7600

Jonas blinked, scowled, "Nice try newbie, but I'm no sucker." Then he nervously looked back at her cards. Buffy just grinned. "Do you end your turn?"

He scowled again, once more looking at her cards, but silently nodded his head. Buffy grinned and drew…Silver Bow & Arrow. She grinned to herself, but was all business to Jonas. Both Dark Witch and Wing Weaver were Fairy types, which was why she had chosen this card in the first place, but still… she had a plan, and so far it was working.

She laid down the second card she had drawn from her Pot of Greed, face-up. "I activate Soul Exchange, allowing me to sacrifice one of your monsters in order to summon a more powerful monster. But since she's so powerful, I'll have to sacrifice Dark Witch as well. I sacrifice your Giant Soldier of Stone in order to summon," she paused as he had as they put the sacrificed monsters away, "Wing Weaver."

Jonas snorted. "She's not quite powerful enough newbie."

"I know that," Buffy replied, "Which is why I activate my two trap cards."

"Hey…wait! What?"

Buffy turned them over to reveal Armored Glass and World Suppression. "Armored Glass deactivates all Equip magic cards this turn, and World Suppression turns off the effects of your Mountain card as well."

Mikazukinoyaiba/2200

Wing Weaver/2750

"Oh shit," Jonas cursed, looking rather pale.

"And I attack your dragon with Wing Weaver, destroying it, and I believe knocking 550 more points from your Life points." Buffy replied rather smugly.

Buffy/7100

Jonas/7050

Jonas glared at her.

"And for Main Phase 2, I activate the magic card Silver Bow & Arrow, which raises Wing Weaver's Attack and Defense by 200 points. Next turn of course. Which I believe is yours." Buffy grinned.

"You sure this is your first duel?"

"See, now with you calling me newbie and all, I thought you had already decided on that. But officially? Yeah, this is my first duel. Unofficially? I've just finished a week of training where I did nothing but duel."

Jonas snorted and drew a card. "Fine. No more Mr. Nice Guy. I summon a monster in defense mode, and end my turn."

Buffy nodded and drew a card. A second Spirit of the Harp. "I place one monster in defense mode and I attack your face down card with Wing Weaver."

Jonas just took the card and threw it down in the Graveyard, not even bothering turning it over as he said, "Since it was in defense position, I don't lose any life points."

Buffy nodded, but inside was a little ticked.

She quickly counted what she had going for her. She still had White Hole face down on the field, and Silver Bow & Arrow equipped to Wing Weaver, giving her monster an attack strength of 2950 and defensive of 2700.

"Your turn," she said coyly, keeping up the confident act.

Jonas just snorted and drew a card. He squinted in concentration at it before adding it to his hand. He smirked as he took another card and laid it in the Magic/Trap row. "I activate Dark Hole," he said, revealing the magic card.

Immediately Buffy turned her trap card over replying, "And that activates my other trap, White Hole. If you had any, only your monsters would be destroyed, mine are safe."

Jonas stared, disbelieving. Grumbling, he tossed the card into his graveyard as Buffy did the same for White Hole. "I set a monster in defense mode, and that ends my turn," he grumbled.

Buffy smirked and drew a card. Baby Dragon. Might be useful with that Field magic card still in effect, since her World Suppression trap was only active for one turn. But with an attack of only 1200, it wouldn't be on a superior level.

Then she glared down at Jonas' face down card. With only Wing Weaver in attack mode, he could just keep setting down monsters in defense mode, and never lose any more life points for the rest of the duel. She needed another monster on the field, one that could still attack and not be easily destroyed.

But that was not Baby Dragon. Not yet at any rate. Her gut was telling her to hold off on playing it for the moment. And after all this time, she knew to listen to her gut.

Jonas set down another monster, and again, Buffy destroyed it without hesitation or problem. It was her turn again. She drew Time Wizard. Buffy smiled, which made Jonas very nervous all of a sudden.

Jonah had taught her about Fusion monsters, and the needed card Polymerization, but the reason why she had chosen Baby Dragon that only had 1200 ATK and 700 DEF, was because when combined with the Time Wizard, which she had gotten primarily because of it's special effect, you don't need Polymerization to summon the Fusion monster.

"I summon Baby Dragon in Attack mode," Buffy put Baby Dragon next to her Wing Weaver. "And then I will activate Time Wizard's special effect, Time Roulette!"

Jonas looked stunned as Buffy put the Time Wizard in the Magic/Trap row. "Wh-what does that do?" Jonas asked, sounding unsure.

Buffy arched her eyebrow while thinking _'Top duelist in Sunnydale huh?'_

"Here you go Buffy," Jonah walked over with the manual spinner that was used for the Time Wizard special effect. Other cards also used spinners or coin tosses, so the Game shops and official Tournaments always had these items handy. Jonah set the spinner at the side of the dueling table.

"If I land on a circle, that means I can activate Time Wizard's special ability," Buffy calmly explained. "But… if I land on an X, then all of my monsters are destroyed and their combined attack power is taken from my life points."

"Wait… what?!" Jonas shouted as Buffy flicked the spinner with a bit of Slayer strength added behind it. It was spinning so fast for several seconds that they could only see a blur and hear the sound, but slowly, it started to slow until finally it began to stop.

Everyone stared, waiting, watching, some hoping. When it finally did stop, they all just kept staring. Jonas was the first to look up, and he gulped. "So… what's Time Wizard's special ability?"

Buffy smirked. "To accelerate time by 1000 years, which transforms my Baby Dragon into Thousands Dragon, and since Fairies are immortal, Wing Weaver remains unharmed by the passage of time."

Jonah chuckled. "Nice work Buffy!" he complimented her.

Jonas still had one defensive monster face down on the field. Buffy decided to test out her new monster, leaving him wide open for a direct attack by her more powerful 2950 Wing Weaver.

"I attack your face down card with Thousands Dragon, which incidentally, thanks to your Field Magic card, and it being a dragon and all, gets boosted from 2400 to 2600 attack. Not that it makes that much of a difference with that particular card." Buffy smirked.

Jonas, for once his face blank, just turned the face down card over to reveal a monster that only had 1200 defense. Buffy's face fell a little as she saw the darker brown color of the card though.

"When Witch of the Black Forest is sent from the field to the Graveyard," Jonas began to smirk as he moved the card to the graveyard, "I can take one monster card with 1500 or less Defense points from my Deck to my hand. Then I get to reshuffle my deck."

Buffy scowled and waited patiently while Jonas searched his deck. His suddenly bright smile didn't exactly make her more confident.

"I think I'll take… Summoned Skull," he began to laugh as he added the card to his hand and began to reshuffle his deck.

Buffy blinked in disbelief. Summoned Skull was a 6-Star monster, but its attack was 2500!

And its defense was 1200, she realized suddenly. Which meant that Witch of the Black Forest's special effect did apply.

Once he was done, Buffy scowled and said without any emotion, "I attack your Life Points directly with Wing Weaver."

Jonas/4100

Jonas made a slight show of wincing and gasped, "Ouch! That's harsh," then he laughed.

Buffy scowled again, but didn't reply otherwise.

Jonas drew, trying to keep the constant grin off his face, but he did put another monster in face down defense mode. "And I also place this card face down," he put the card he had just drawn in the Magic/Trap zone.

'Trap card' Buffy knew without doubt. But what kind of trap was the question.

She drew. Stop Defense. A magic card. But what if a magic card activated his trap card? What if it was activated by an attack? Buffy was now getting a taste of the stress she had put Jonas under with her bluff about the trap cards earlier. Well… he wasn't bluffing, and she wasn't about to fall for one, even if she regretted it.

"I play the magic card Stop Defense, putting your monster into attack mode," Buffy played it.

Jonas, calmly, turned the card face up. It was another Black Land Fire Dragon.

Smiling, Buffy moved into the Battle phase. "I attack your Dragon with mine…"

"And I activate my Trap card," Jonas interrupted her. She stared as the purple-hued card was revealed. Waboku. One that she had in her own deck. It meant that no damage from Battle could be counted this turn. She could attack, it just wouldn't do anything.

"This card…"

"I know what it does. I end my turn," Buffy told him emotionlessly.

Jonas now had the same expression he'd had from the start of this duel, and it grew even more so with the next card he drew.

"I sacrifice my Dragon to summon Summoned Skull," Jonas switched the cards.

"Doesn't matter. Even my Thousands Dragon is stronger, thanks to you," Buffy told him. She was surprised herself by how flat and emotionless her voice was. She normally only got like this when she was concentrating very hard, or trying to psyche a vamp out. While slaying, her mind was in exactly this frame, it was just that she was doing a physical activity, and that meant she got excited a bit easier.

"I'm not done yet," Jonas smirked.

"I activate," he took the card he had drawn for this turn, "Polymerization, and fuse my Summoned Skull on the field with the Red-Eyes Black Dragon in my hand. They fuse together to create Black Skull Dragon."

Buffy stared, unbelieving.

Black Skull Dragon/3400

Wing Weaver/2950

Thousands Dragon/2600

"And don't forget my little Field magic card," Jonas rubbed it in. "Since you seem so attached to it, I think I'll take out your little Wing Weaver first!"

Buffy/6650

Buffy winced, and for just a moment, as she moved her Wing Weaver to the Graveyard, she felt a hot flash of pain go through her. Like she had felt the attack herself. But that was impossible, right?

She also had to put away her Silver Bow & Arrow magic card, since the monster it had been equipped to was now destroyed. Not willing to give up though, she drew her next card, taking calming breaths and hoping for a small miracle to save her chances.

And wouldn't you just know it?

Monster Reborn.

But what good would it do her if _nothing_ in her entire deck could beat something as powerful as that Black Skull Dragon? For the moment, all she could do was protect her Life Points, as much as she didn't want to go on the defensive after having taken the lead.

"I switch Thousands Dragon to Defense mode, and place two cards face down," she said, putting Monster Reborn and a De-Spell card face down on the field, leaving her with two cards in her hand. Fissure and Dark Hole, which she had drawn during the turns Jonas had defended. "That ends my turn."

Jonas nodded and drew. Then he looked up and grinned. "Say goodbye to your dragon," he teased. She just cleared her side of the field, save for the magic and trap cards, briefly surprised that he hadn't summoned another monster to attack her Life Points.

Now what, was the question on her mind. Her hand hesitated over the top of her deck, unsure for the first time since this began. What was she thinking? This was just a game! So what if the first time she played it she lost? That happens with beginners. The whole point of it was to have fun, and the attitude while you played it.

She blinked, a cold shiver running through her.

She gritted her teeth and squinted her eyes in anger as she realized that she had almost given into despair, almost given up before she had really _tried_ to play the game. So far she had only been interested in Duel Monsters for the fun. Now, now it was time she played to _win_!

Almost as though something was guiding her hand, and she was just along for the ride, she drew her next card.

"Well?" Jonas asked as he waited for her to give up.

Buffy looked at the card she had just drawn, and a plan began to form. She still had Spirit of the Harp in face down defense mode, as well as Fissure and Monster Reborn. But Jonas also had another face down card and his Black Skull Dragon. So Fissure may not work, but since Jonas didn't have any monsters _but_ his Black Skull Dragon on the field, it _was_ his weakest face up monster, so there was at least a chance that Fissure could destroy it without her having to use Dark Hole. But all the same, she might need Spirit of the Harp still, and in order for her plan to work, the card she had just drawn needed to end up in the graveyard.

But.

"I activate the magic card Fissure," Buffy turned over the magic card, "Which destroys your weakest face-up monster."

"And I activate the trap card Magic Jammer, which deactivates and destroys your magic card, and all I have to do is discard one card from my hand," which he promptly did. Frowning, Buffy put Fissure in her own graveyard. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jonah frowning, with a look of worry directed at her.

The Slayer sighed. Onto Plan B as the saying went.

"I summon Witch of the Black Forest," placing the card she had just drawn. "I don't attack, instead I activate the magic card Dark Hole, and something tells me you don't have White Hole on your side," she teased the duelist.

Jonas' eyes went wide, and with a frustrated sigh, he put his precious Black Skull Dragon in the graveyard. "So you going to get your Summoned Skull out?" he growled, indicating Witch of the Black Forest's special ability.

"No," Buffy grinned as she searched her deck, and found the card she was looking for. "Magician of Faith should do," she remarked, holding up the 3-star monster and adding it to her hand.

Frowning, and knowing exactly what the monster's special ability is, Jonas just waited patiently, already planning on what to do next.

"Last thing though, since I don't want you catching my life points unaware," Buffy flipped over Monster Reborn. "Guess who I'm bringing back," she finished shuffling her deck and then pulled Wing Weaver, in attack mode, out of the graveyard and onto the field.

That shot Jonas' plan to pieces as he growled at his hand.

"That ends my turn. For now," Buffy told her opponent.

He drew, scowled, and then without a word placed a monster card face down.

_'How rude,'_ Buffy thought as she drew a Reinforcements trap card, giving a monster an additional 200 ATK points when attacking.

"I set one monster in defense mode," she said, placing Magician of Faith face down next to Wing Weaver, "And place another card face down," putting down the Reinforcements card.

"And I attack your defense monster with Wing Weaver," she announced, and again, sulking, Jonas just put it in the graveyard without even bothering to turn it over.

"You know, if you're going to be a sourpuss for the rest of this game, you may as well quit now, because you're sucking all the fun out of this." Buffy told him.

His eyes suddenly hardened and the familiar confident grin, etched with an angry scowl, covered his face as he retorted, "I don't quit newbie!"

"Good, cause I hate quitters," she told him. "That ends my turn."

Grumbling to himself, Jonas drew another card and seemed to concentrate on his hand and the field for several long moments. Concentrating herself on her somewhat tedious plan, Buffy remained quiet and didn't bother him on how long he was taking.

Finally, he moved. "I set one monster in defense mode and place two cards face down," he played defensively. "That ends _my_ turn."

'_He's got something cooking, I can smell it,'_ Buffy thought, grimacing slightly at her own metaphor. She drew her Dragon Capture Jar trap card, not that it would do her a lot of good now, but still, she might need it later on.

"I'll start by placing a card face down," putting the Dragon Capture Jar down next to Reinforcements, "and . . ."

Suddenly she was interrupted when Jonas turned over one of his face down cards. "I activate my trap card, Call of the Haunted! It allows me to bring back one monster from the graveyard and play it in face up attack position. Guess which one?"

"Well, if I had to guess, I'd have to say your Black Skull Dragon, but that would just be right, wouldn't it," she retorted with a sick smile.

Jonas just continued to smirk as he got his Black Skull Dragon out of the graveyard and put it on the field.

"And that activates the trap card I just set," she interrupted him, flipping the card over, "Dragon Capture Jar. Prevents you from using that dragon from attacking by forcing it into permanent Defense mode, and also allows me to attack you life points directly instead of fighting with it."

"I didn't know you had that card!" Jonas exclaimed.

Buffy shrugged. "After seeing what Dragon cards can do, I figured it might be a good precaution in case I came across somebody that had a powerful dragon card in their deck," she replied. "And now I play the magic card De-Spell, to get rid of your Field Magic card, and return your dragon's stats to normal."

Gulping, Jonas put the card in his graveyard.

Black Skull Dragon/2500/DEF

Wing Weaver/2750/ATK

"Oh, and I Flip-Summon Magician of Faith, which activates her special ability, allowing me to bring back a magic card from the graveyard," Buffy happily informed him. "I think I'll get . . . Silver Bow & Arrow. And then put it on Wing Weaver, bringing her all the way back up to 2950."

"So are you going to attack me?" he asked.

"Hmm, well, you do still have that face down card left, but I'm thinking it's more for protecting your dragon rather than your life points, so I'll . . ." Buffy hesitated. Decision time. Go for him, or wipe out his dragon, but cause little or no damage to him? The longer this duel went on, the harder it would become, she was certain of that. That meant taking his Life Points out as soon as possible, even if the threat of his dragon still loomed, it was contained for the moment. Plus, she had two monsters, and he only had 4100 Life Points left, opposed to her 6650.

"I attack your life points directly with both of my monsters," she paused for a moment, and when he didn't immediately go for his face down card, continued, "taking you all the way down to 850 in Life Points if I've done my math correctly. Mom'll be so proud," she taunted him.

"And I now activate my Trap card, "Attack & Receive, which takes 700 of your Life Points when my Life Points are damaged," he told her.

Buffy/5950

Buffy winced slightly at walking right into the trap, but at least it wasn't devastating to her. Hey, she was pretty good at this game, she realized with a start.

"Your turn now," she ended her turn.

His jaw set and determined, Jonas drew another card, and frowned in concentration, looking at his other cards, but sighed and just put another card in the Magic/Trap zone. "I place one card face down and end my turn," he said gloomily.

Buffy wasted no time in drawing her next card, but was just as surprised as anyone when she saw she had drawn her second Silver Bow & Arrow card. "I activate my second Silver Bow & Arrow Magic card, putting it with Wing Weaver, giving her an attack power of, let's see, 3150 points. And I use it to finally wipe out your Black Skull Dragon, which does have the consequence of taking my Dragon Capture Jar with it, but since it leaves the way open for Magician of Faith to take another chunk of your life points out."

Jonas/450

"Sure you don't want to quit?" she asked him as she ended her turn.

"I told you," he angrily drew his next card, "I don't quit."

"I place a monster in defense mode and place one card face down and end my turn," he snapped.

"So tell me Jonas, where exactly did you get the title of Best Duelist in Sunnydale?" the Slayer asked as she drew her next card. Malevolent Nuzzler. Geez, how bad could she make this guy lose already?

"I play the magic card Malevolent Nuzzler, bringing . . ." she hesitated, just to see him sweat a little, only he wasn't, which made her decision final, "Magician of Faith's attack power up from 400 to 1200. Not much, so I'll augment her attack by activating this trap card, Reinforcements, to give her an additional 200 attack points. And I've got the feeling, that should be enough to take out your Defense position monster."

Stunned, Jonas just sat there, before finally flipping his face down defense card face up. It was a normal monster known as Gemini Twins.

Gemini Twins/ ATK/1900 DEF/900

Magician of Faith/1400

Then he silently, yet sourly, put it in his graveyard as Buffy announced, "And I end this duel by wiping out your Life Points with my Wing Weaver. Good duel. And thank you for the match. If it makes you feel any better, this really was my first duel."

"No, it doesn't make me feel any better," Jonas whined as they gathered their cards back up.

"Well done!" Jonah suddenly exclaimed, very exuberant, "Well done indeed! And your first official duel as well! I am so proud!"

"Thanks Jonah," Buffy accepted the praise with a slight blush.

Jonas looked at her and sighed.

"Good duel," he finally offered his hand to her. Buffy smiled and graciously took his hand and gently shook it. "You're pretty good. Next time I'll totally trounce you, rookie or not!"

The Slayer grinned, feeling strangely excited from Jonas' challenge. "Thanks, and you are so totally on."

It was then that Buffy noticed the time and she hurriedly excused herself. "I-I'm sorry Jonah, I've got to go. It was nice to meet you Jonas, and I look forward to our next duel. But I've really got to go!" And with that, gathering up her dueling items, she rushed out the door.

End


End file.
